It is well known that rooms can produce distortional acoustic effects such as echoes, reverberations, amplified bass tones, and uneven volume distribution throughout the room. Systems for improving the sound quality of indoor rooms have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,049,190; 3,411,605; 3,590,354; 4,226,299; 4,605,088; 4,682,670; 5,035,298; 5,896,710; 6,530,451; 6,782,971, all being incorporated herein by reference. Such prior systems generally employ large volume panels that attach to the walls or employ floor-standing structures, some of which are movable or adjustable nature. Such panels and related structures are usually of bulky, heavy and expensive construction, or difficult to install, or detract from the aesthetic appearance or floor space of the room. The prior art systems did not address the needs for performance areas such as college recital halls or school cafetorium areas where variable acoustics are often required. Moreover, past systems have not adequately addressed the problem that the same room or performance space is often used for different purposes that present different acoustic challenges. Wenger Corporation improved upon existing acoustic panels by developing a tunable acoustic panel that enables a rehearsal room to be satisfactorily used for both instrumental and choral rehearsal with a simple mechanical lever mechanism.
Another means of addressing the sound quality of indoor rooms include the use of a motorized acoustic banner roller system such as that manufactured by acouStaCorp LLC. These systems are known in the art as variable acoustic absorption banner (VAAB) systems. An example of a VAAB system is shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2013/00376646A1, which is also incorporated herein by reference. One limitation of these prior art devices is that they frequently have misalignment issues when rolling or unrolling the banners, have a fixed distance between the banner and the wall to which they are mounted, and are difficult to maintain because changing the banner fabric is difficult and time-consuming.
A need exists, therefore, for an improved motorized acoustical banner.